18:1-20; 18:21-50
Amos 4:6-13 2 Pet. 3:11-18 Matt. 21:33-46
Patience. It is a word that can carry significant meaning and emotion. It’s a word that is deeply interconnected to our sense of time and how quickly or not something comes to fruition. It could be something simple, such as when will dinner be ready or how much longer will I need to be on hold before the customer service agent answers my call. It could be something more complex such as when will the doctor call about the test results. It could speak to something all-consuming such as when will the pandemic end or when will we see an end to homophobia, bigotry, desecration of our planet, and violence. Patience.
I wonder, in this season of Advent, and with Peter’s words, “and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation,” how our understanding of patience can be shaped? I wonder if there is an opportunity to see the patience that God extends to you, to me, and all of creation, as the spark that helps us carry on with the work we are called to, especially when we do not see results, and feel like we are out of patience.
In this season of Advent, which invites us into waiting and patience, let us remember that the light of the incarnate God is coming, for it already has, and it always will be.
Loving God, fill us with your patience so that we may be an example of your everlasting light in the world.
Listen to Stacey read her Advent meditation and prayer:
